Board and Card Games Stack Exchange
Board and Card Games Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [game-design]

The process of designing a game to be played, such as the creation of the game mechanics and theme and the associated rules, board, map, cards, tokens and/or other playing implements. Also includes the process of play testing early versions of the game to refine and improve these elements.

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Is kingmaking in multiplayer games a problem that can be fixed?

The original Kingmaker was Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick. He was instrumental during the Wars of the Roses in the deposition of two kings. The term kingmaker has come to mean, "a person or group that has great influence in a royal or…
user1873
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Is it possible to design a two player game of skill with absolutely no luck?

I really do mean absolutely no luck. This would disqualify even games like Chess as White has an inherent advantage, winning between 52 and 56 percent of all games. A good test for a game with absolutely no luck is: If player 1 plays again as…
Aadit M Shah
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Why are there fewer board games with a triangular grid?

Many games have a rectangular grid, some even use hexagonal but it's quite rare to see triangles. I have heard the argument that hexagons confuse players. Is that true? Is there any evidence to suggest it? My inner game designer thinks that…
eipipuz
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How do game designers come up with suggested (or minimum) age requirements for games?

Is there a standard formula or procedure for determining suggested (or minimum) age requirements for games? Or do a few game designers just sit around and discuss for a few minutes and then just come up with a best guess? What criteria are used, if…
Joe Golton
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Something that only happens every X turns

I'm working on a new board game where there's an action (we'll call it Brazening) that only happens every X turns (let's say it happens every 5 turns). What's a good way to keep track of when it's time for the next Brazening? The perfect method…
Joe
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What's the easiest way to prototype a board game design?

In an idle moment I had an idea for a simple war game simulation. (Really simple - honest!) I'd like to prototype it, just to see if the game mechanic I thought of has any merit. I don't want to spend hours, though. What it would need is a map…
Steve Bennett
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How can I mitigate some of the downtime between player's turns?

For games in which it is not possible to take simultaneous turns, as the number of players increases, so does the wait time between a player's turn and their turn again. It becomes a balancing issue with the game's design to keep the game the same…
user1873
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How do I find players willing to participate in test-playing my games?

I have some game ideas that are currently in the prototype phase. I am now looking for groups who are willing to test these games. I am somewhat afraid that they won't like the game and would not be willing to play again. Do you know where I can…
Oliver Hankeln
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Players who can't seem to follow the rules -- What can be done?

Non--board-game people keep making up their own rules, without knowing it. I'm talking about players who are intelligent and literate, but who don't generally play board games. Is there anything a game designer can do to help them understand how the…
Joe
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How can you have units with secret locations on the board?

I've heard that there are games where the units on the board are secret -- that the other player doesn't know where they are. How does this actually work? How can you have units on the board without the other players knowing their location?
Joe
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How can showing the least number of fingers be used to determine who goes first?

I was reading this article about marbles and came across this line about determining who goes first. When I played, we used a common practice of the past where each player at the count of five would display one to five fingers. The person who…
Kenny Bilko
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How can I clearly detail all possible destinations from every point of the map in my game?

I'm making a game about traveling the world and I stumbled across one big problem, so I hoped you could give me some good suggestions. In my game players can choose to which cities they want to go on the map in a limited radius. I thought I could…
AlpineFreak
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Am I at legal risk if I use a mechanism from another game in my own design?

I'm juggling with a card game idea based on a popular fantasy universe. The game still has a long way to go yet. But before I really invest in developing the card game I want to make sure I'm not wasting time and want to verify if I'll be able to…
LittleViking26
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Non-disclosure agreement or no?

I told some of my friends and co-workers about a board game I designed, and we're hoping to play it sometime soon. However, I am not sure if I should let everyone sign a non-disclosure agreement or not. It is a board game that I have put a lot of…
whamsicore
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What are the qualities of a successful beta testing session from the player's perspective?

I'm a board game designer with the luxury of a large public playing area filled with board game enthusiasts. I would like to beta test a new board game and was wondering what YOU, as the player, would consider a successful session. I've already seen…
Justin Whitney
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